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03 Dec 2008 01:35 pm

A Catholic Takes A Stand

In the debate over torture and prisoner abuse as government policy, the resistance of so many in the military, CIA, FBI and elsewhere in the government to the war crimes of the Bush administration has been an inspiration. One of the more inspiring figures to me is Darren Vandeveld. Vandeveld is a devout Pennsylvania Catholic and patriot who joined up after 9/11 and served in Iraq, Bosnia and Africa before becoming a military lawyer at Gitmo. Assigned to the camp, and believing the president's assurance that the commander-in-chief treated all prisoners humanely, Vandeveld described himself as a "true believer." But then he saw the truth:

It was one case in particular, that of a young Afghan called Mohammed Jawad, which caused most concern. Mr Jawad was accused of throwing a grenade at a US military vehicle. Col Vandeveld says that in a locker he found indisputable evidence that Mr Jawad had been mistreated. After Mr Jawad had tried to commit suicide by banging his head against a wall at Guantanamo, Col Vandeveld says that psychologists who assisted interrogators advised taking advantage of Mr Jawad's vulnerability by subjecting him to specialist interrogation techniques known as "fear up". He was also placed, Col Vandeveld says, into what was known as the "frequent flyer" programme in which he was moved from cell to cell every few hours, with the aim of preventing him sleeping properly, and securing a confession.

A devout Catholic, Col Vandeveld found himself deeply troubled by what he discovered.

After consulting with a priest, he quit.

I should confess that behind my passion on this subject is a core religious conviction - that all human beings have dignity in the eyes of God and that treating any human being in this way is an absolute moral evil.

I have not made my argument on religious grounds because I believe in the separation of religion and politics and made my case in language that anyone - believer and non-believer - can engage equally. But it is my faith that informs my view on this. I may not be a Christianist; I do not believe in making explicit religious arguments in the public square; but I am a Christian and I do have core moral beliefs. There is great relief is seeing a fellow Catholic, unlike the theocons and the Bush apologists, who sees this the same way. And inspiring to see him throw away his career for it. This, in my view, is what this age demands of Christians. If we cannot resist perpetrating the torture once deployed against our savior, what will we resist?

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